Electricity prices are surging, opening up a new line of attacks against Republicans

Electricity prices are on the rise across the United States, and the political ramifications could be dramatic.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average utility electric bill for a residential customer in the U.S. in 2024 was $144, up from $122 in 2021, and this week’s consumer price index report found electricity up 5.5 percent over the last year, higher than the average inflation rate.

There are a host of reasons for these increases, from increasing demand due to the growth of data centers and artificial intelligence to the need for costly infrastructure upgrades to general inflation pushing all prices higher. But the uptick comes at a time when prices and cost of living are among the most important political issues on the minds of voters. The politics of th